Credit: MarvelGood news for Captain Marvel (2019) actress Brie Larson, who’s now officially at Robert Downey Jr. level in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
Since debuting in her first Marvel film, Brie Larson has established herself as one of the MCU’s most powerful figures. Not only is her character, Carol Danvers (AKA Captain Marvel herself), widely considered among its strongest heroes – second perhaps only to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) – but Larson made history as the first actress to lead their own film in the franchise.
Her appearances in the MCU have been brief since Captain Marvel. Danvers played a minor role in Avengers: Endgame (2019), coming to the rescue of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) at the beginning of the film and later returning to Earth to join the Avengers in their final fight against Thanos (Josh Brolin). She also had a brief uncredited cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and the Disney+ original series Ms. Marvel, which is said to lead into her next full-length appearance: The Marvels (2023).
Set for release in November, The Marvels is set to see Danvers team up with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) as the three try to discover why they keep swapping places with each other every time they use their powers.
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Not only will this mark Larson’s long-awaited return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it also heralds another shift for the franchise. For the first time ever, Larson has received the exclusive honor of sole top billing – meaning her name is the only name ranked before the name of the film.
This honor has previously only been reserved for a select few actors in the MCU. The first was, of course, Robert Downey Jr., the MCU’s former leading man until Avengers: Endgame. His name was the first credit listed for both Iron Man 2 (2010) and Iron Man 3 (2013). The honor was later bestowed upon Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Steven Strange/Doctor Strange), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow).
This officially puts Larson up there among the MCU elite. With The Marvels rumored to directly lead into Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2026), this is a pretty good sign that Captain Marvel will be a hero of equal importance to Iron Man in the next Avengers line-up – but with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike in full swing, there’s a chance we may have to wait a little longer than expected to find out.
The Marvels hits theaters on November 10, 2023.
Are you excited for The Marvels? Let us know your hopes for the film in the comments!